skip to main content
Give

December 15, 2020

Texas A&M Health and COVID Vaccine Distribution

December 15, 2020

 

Colleagues

 

Last Friday was a momentous day in the U.S. The FDA’s emergency authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine marks a seminal moment in the effort to curb this ravenous pandemic. We at Texas A&M Health have been preparing for this moment in many ways for years……from our emergency preparedness and response training and planning, to the development of the Center for Innovation in Advanced Development (CIADM,) which was created to rapidly produce vaccines and therapeutics in case of pandemics. 

 

I know you all have many questions about the vaccine rollout and the role our institution will play in these efforts.  There is still lots of planning being done and many unanswered questions.  We will continue monitoring and working with state leadership to remain up to date as things evolve, but here is what we are currently doing:

  • Developed a Texas A&M Health Vaccine Task Force with members across the Health Science Center colleges, as well as playing a leadership role in a similar group for the Texas A&M System. The purpose of these task forces are to distribute consistent information across the colleges and coordinate vaccine applications, resources and actions across the institution. Olga Rodriguez, Associate Vice President and Chief of Staff of Texas A&M Health, is chairing both of these groups.
  • Working with our clinical affiliates across the state to coordinate vaccine administration for our students, faculty and staff and/or determine the role of our students in vaccine administration with our clinical partners.  
  • Coordinating the use of freezers —typically used for biologicals— across our Texas A&M Health colleges, Texas A&M University and across the Texas A&M System to store the current COVID-19 vaccines, which are required to be stored between -70 to -80 degrees Celsius. 
  • Developing communications to be distributed across the Health Science Center that explains the safety and efficacy of the vaccines being developed, as well as information explaining the differences between the current best COVID-19 tests available.

 

The Texas A&M Health leadership team and I are working closely with Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to ensure we have all the information, resources and infrastructure in place to be an effective vaccine provider. We will also coordinate the possible involvement of our faculty, staff and students in vaccine distribution to the general public.

 

I am exceedingly grateful to the leaders across the Health Science Center who are enabling us to respond quickly to the state’s need for efficient and effective vaccine distribution. 

 

I encourage you all to read the information released by the FDA regarding the vaccine that has been authorized. We will do our best to keep you as informed as we are on developments related to COVID-19 vaccines and their implications on our institution.

 

More information to come. Updates will be included on the Texas A&M Health COVID site as available, including point of contacts for your college, and FAQs.

 

Take care and stay healthy.

 

Greg Hartman

Texas A&M University

Chief Operating Officer & Senior Vice President, Texas A&M Health 

Vice Chancellor, Texas A&M University System